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Josep Bartomeu is accused of defaming Barça employees.
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imago images / Marca
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As a result, six of the 19 club directors resigned.
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sialfutur.cat
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Victor Font plans to push Bartomeu off the Barça throne next year.
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imago images / Pro Shots
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Coutinho (left) and Dembélé (right) should leave the club as soon as possible.
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There have been rosier times for FC Barcelona. For example, a year ago, on April 16, 2019, the Catalans in the quarter-finals of the Champions League just overruled Manchester United in a grandiose manner. 3-0 at home, led by a magistral Lionel Messi (32).
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This year, however, nobody is worshiping the magic kicker in the football temple called Camp Nou. The stadium remains closed due to the corona lockdown. It is still not quiet at the giant club. On the contrary: there is a bitter power struggle. A week ago, six of the 19 club directors threw their beg – in protest against the leadership style of President Josep Bartomeu (57). At the same time, they are calling for immediate new elections.
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Messi and Co defamed?
The accusation against Bartomeu, who has been the Barça boss since 2014, has it all: He is said to have commissioned the “I3 Ventura” company to employ former and current employees, including coaching legend Pep Guardiola and superstar Lionel Messi, in the Defame social media. For this, Bartomeu let a million dollars jump. His motive: to strengthen the club management in public.
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A nightmare for the PR department at one of the largest football clubs in the world. At the beginning it was called “Barcagate”. Now the “Sport” sheet close to Barça is launching heavy verbal guns. “Barcagate” is a “civil war”, a “time bomb”.
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The club management immediately strikes back, denies in a statement, «categorically any action that could be described as corruption, and has declared itself ready to initiate the corresponding criminal prosecution. FC Barcelona cannot tolerate allegations that seriously damage the image of the institution. »
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Headwind from all sides
However, the topic should not be off the table yet. And the club won’t come to rest for a long time, because the next player has already fired arrows towards Bartomeu: Victor Font. The 47-year-old businessman launched the “Si al Futur” (German: “Yes to the future”) project. This is the slogan with which Font wants to storm the presidential seat of FC Barcelona in 2021.
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He uses the leadership crisis to rub his hand to give the tumbling boss the next right. In an open letter on his homepage, Font writes that Barcelona is “economically bankrupt and in moral disintegration”. It is not the first time that the 26-time Spanish champion is said to have money problems. Over the past three years, Barça has spent over CHF 400 million on Antoine Griezmann (29), Ousmane Dembélé (22) and Philippe Coutinho (27) alone.
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Several players before sale
It is quite possible that Bartomeu will have to bake smaller rolls in the upcoming transfer phases. As «As» reports, the squad will be severely thinned out. Dembélé, Coutinho, Rakitic (32), Arturo Vidal (32), Nelson Semedo (26), Junior Firpo (23), Samuel Umtiti (26), Jean-Clair Todibo (20) and winter newcomer Martin Braithwaite (28) on the final list so that the club gets closer to the black again.
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A return to normalcy, on the other hand, is wishful thinking in Barcelona. The Messi worship must continue to wait. And the mud fight on the carpet floor could get even dirtier. (say)
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